Indoor Tanning Devices can be Dangerous

Tanning after summer

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Damaging your skin can be a year-round activity. As summer sun fades and we head toward fall, people might head toward tanning salons as a way to keep the glow going.

Skin cancer experts say that’s a bad idea. At the National Cancer Institute, dermatologist John DiGiovanna points out the dangers of indoor tanning:

“The World Health Organization has declared indoor tanning devices as carcinogenic. And the risk now we know holds true regardless of when individuals start – whether they start at a young age or an adult age.” (12 seconds)

Skin cancer is the nation’s most common form of cancer. And while the two most common types of skin cancer are highly curable, the third – melanoma – can be very hard to control unless it is caught early.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.